


The Waiting x The Joy

by MissCherryBomb



Series: Gum x Needles [2]
Category: Hunter X Hunter
Genre: Family Issues, Female Illumi, Fluff, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Romance, Unplanned Pregnancy, hisoillu
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-23
Updated: 2017-10-08
Packaged: 2018-09-11 12:42:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 15,538
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8980180
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissCherryBomb/pseuds/MissCherryBomb
Summary: This work is a continuation of "The Meeting x The Thirst" - the previous work from this series, so I recommend you to read it first (if you haven't done it already). But, if you don't want to, here's a short summary that introduce you into the story:Despite being an assassin, Illumi works as a hostess in a club owned by Chrollo. He uses his manipulation skills to disguise himself as a woman. At work he meets Hisoka, a master of a floor at Heaven's Arena. They start a romance against the club's rules.





	1. Chapter 1

“You’re what?” Chrollo furrowed his brows, certain that he misheard something.

“I’m pregnant,” Illumi repeated once again.

He and Chrollo were sitting in Chrollo’s office at the back of the club. The room was small and dark, the only source of light was a lamp on a desk and some colorful, neon lights on the walls. They were sitting at a large, wooden desk, opposite of each other. Illumi knew about the pregnancy for some time, but he finally decided to reveal it to his boss because soon even the loosest dresses wouldn’t hide his belly. He was already three months along.

“Illumi, you know the rules… You can’t work here anymore…” He could hear deep regret in Chrollo’s voice. Illumi was his favorite worker after all.

“I know. I just wanted to inform you.”

“Do you need any help?”

“No, I can handle this on my own. Thank you, Chrollo. And, I’m sorry that I have failed you…”

“May I know who the father is? It’s okay if you don’t want to say though. I’m just curious.”

“It’s Hisoka.”

“I see… He’s out of the city, does he even know about it?” Chrollo’s face stayed emotionless; he didn’t seem to be shocked about this piece of information.

“No.”

“I won’t hide the fact that you disappointed me, but I don’t want to bear any grudges. You can always ask for help, if you need any.”

“I appreciate it. I’ll get going.” Illumi yanked himself from his seat and walked out of the office.

* * *

 

Illumi was lying on the futon in his apartment, daydreaming. He lost his job as a hostess and he couldn’t work as an assassin in this condition. Things were turning out to be pretty complicated for him. He was running out of money, and he hadn’t paid the rent last month. 

Of course, he could go back to his family’s mansion, but he didn’t want to. He hadn’t even told his parents that they would become grandparents eventually. He didn’t want them to know that he had failed. Hisoka would be out of the city for some time, and Illumi hadn’t even managed to tell him before he left. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to tell him in the first place. Now that he didn’t work as a hostess anymore, they wouldn’t see each other often anymore.

_I’ll figure out a way to make it on my own._

He was fooling himself, wasn’t he? Hisoka surely wouldn’t want to see him ever again. He was so useless now; he couldn’t work as a hostess nor as an assassin. That feeling of uselessness was killing him, and so Illumi burst into tears. At that moment, he heard his ringtone. He looked at the screen. An unfamiliar number was calling. Illumi picked it up.

“Hello?”

“Oh, hello, my dear Lumi~ ♥!” Illumi heard that familiar, sweet voice.

“What do you want, Hisoka?”

“I came back to the city and I found out that you don’t work as a hostess anymore… But, Chrollo gave me your number to contact you!”

_Damn Chrollo._

“Still, I don’t know why you’re  calling…”

“I thought that we could meet for a coffee or something! Since you don’t work at the club anymore it’s pretty much legal.” He chuckled.

“Did Chrollo tell you why I don’t work there anymore?”

“No. I tried to ask, but he avoided the subject. That’s why I wanted to meet and talk. Or, we don’t have to talk, if you don’t want to. We can do some other things~.”

Illumi didn’t know how to answer. He didn’t want to talk about the reason of his dismissal, but he wanted to see that dumb clown’s face.

“Ugh, fine, let’s meet…”

* * *

 

They met in a café where they had had some dinners before. Hisoka waited for Illumi at a table in the café’s garden outside the building.

Hisoka welcomed him with a wide smile. “Hello, dear~ ♥!”

“Hi,” Illumi replied faintly, expressionless.

He took a seat opposite of Hisoka. On the inside,  Illumi was glad that he finally saw him, but at the same time he wanted to punch him in the face for being the cause of all his troubles.

“Want anything to drink, my love? Coffee? Tea? Maybe something stronger?” He winked.

“A strawberry shake, please.” Since he became pregnant, he was always thirsty for strawberry shakes, which was rather odd because he always preferred chocolate ones. He reached for a napkin and started rumpling it; this conversation made him unbelievably stressed, so he had to occupy his hands with something.

“Why are you being so polite?  I thought we got drunk and…” The jester trailed off, leaning over the table, wiggling his eyebrows.

“I’m pregnant,” Illumi said bluntly, looking away. In the end, he decided that Hisoka had a right to know that.

Hisoka instantly froze and stared at Illumi with wide eyes and raised eyebrows.

“Is that even possible?” the magician finally spoke. “I mean, you’re a man after all. It was only a disguise…”

“I also thought that it wasn’t possible, that’s why I didn’t care about protection back then… but we were wrong…” Illumi began tearing the paper napkin into small pieces.

A silence befell. Then, a waitress appeared asking for their order.

“Two strawberry shakes, please!” Hisoka screamed from the top of his lungs, jerking from his chair. “I’m gonna be a father!” He threw himself at the waitress and hugged her.

“Mmm, okay…” The waitress nodded, confused. “Sir, you have to let me go, if you want me to get your order.”

“Ah, I’m sorry! I just got so excited!” He let go of the waitress and sat back down on his chair. The girl dashed off.

“What’s wrong with you?” Illumi hissed, leaning across the table.

“That’s wonderful news, Lumi!” Hisoka took Illumi’s hands in his.

“I can’t see anything wonderful about it.” Illumi pulled his hands away from Hisoka’s. “I lost my job because of that. And, I can’t work at my other job as well..”

“You can stay at my place!” Hisoka assured him vigorously, placing his hand on his heart.

“I don’t want your help! You’ve done enough!” Illumi shouted, tears forming in the corners of his eyes. “Just leave me alone!” He shot out of  his chair and ran away.

The waitress then appeared with the shakes. “Your order, sir.” She placed the glasses on the table.

“I guess I’ll have to drink them alone…” Hisoka sighed.

* * *

 

Illumi went straight back to his apartment. He threw himself onto the futon and began to cry loudly. He didn’t expect Hisoka’s reaction to be so cheerful. Not knowing how to react, he just simply ran away. But, wasn’t that something he had been taught? To run away when faced with an opponent stronger than you? But, Hisoka wasn’t his opponent, so why did Illumi always run away? Illumi’s thoughts were distracted by a knocking on the door. He wiped the tears from his eyes and headed over to the door. He thought that maybe it was Hisoka, but instead of the clown, he saw his landlord. He was a short, chubby, middle-aged man. He was partly bald, wore thick glasses, and had stained clothes. Illumi let him in.

“Hello, is there a problem?” Illumi asked.

“Yes, you haven’t paid last month’s rent yet.”

“That’s right. I’m so sorry, but I’m going through some financial difficulties...” Illumi excused himself.

“I don’t care, you either pay your rent or you get out. I have a lot of people who want to live in this apartment. And, they’ll _pay_ for it.”

“I’m really sorry, I’ll try to pay it as quickly as possible.”

“I think so…” the landlord said and eyed Illumi carefully. “There’s also another way you could pay me.” Saying that, he placed his hand on Illumi’s hip. “I bet we can work out a deal…” he expressed with a perverted smile.

Illumi didn’t want to listen to this clingy man anymore, so he knocked him out with one punch and then started to choke him until he lost consciousness. The man was stupefied; he didn’t expect Illumi to be so strong. He didn’t even have a chance to struggle. Illumi dragged the landlord’s body into his room and closed the door. Then, he hurriedly packed his things and left the apartment. He couldn’t stay there any longer. Finding himself on the street, he started to wonder where he should go. In the end, he headed up at Heaven’s Arena.

* * *

 

The intercom in Hisoka’s apartment rang. He pressed the button to answer.

“Yes?”

“Mr. Morow, there’s a lady here and she demands to see you…” the receptionist informed him.

“I see… What does she look like?”

“Black hair and big, black eyes. Should I let her in? You see, she’s pretty aggressive.”

Hisoka chuckled. “Yeah, it’s fine, let her in.”

“Okay.” The receptionist crackled out.

Hisoka opened the door and waited for Illumi at the entrance, shuffling his cards.

“My, oh my, what have we here?”

“I was… kicked out of my apartment because I didn’t pay the rent. I hate to ask you this, but can I stay here for the night? I’ll move out as soon as I find a new place to live!”

“Sure.” Hisoka let Illumi in with a sly smile on his lips. He was secretly glad to have Illumi in his apartment. “You can stay here as long as you want.”

“Thanks.” Illumi sighed, relieved, dragging his suitcase with him.

“Let me take those! You shouldn’t be carrying anything heavy!” Hisoka took Illumi’s suitcase from his hand.

“I’ll be fine!” Illumi opposed.

“I bet. But, you have to care about yourself more right now.” Hisoka stood in front of him and caressed his cheek with his free hand. “I’ll carry it to the bedroom!”

“No, you can put it somewhere else. I can sleep on the couch.” Illumi sat down on the aforementioned piece of furniture.

“Don’t be silly, Lumi~! I have a big bed, don’t you remember? We can both can sleep in it!” Hisoka closed his eyes and smiled warmly.

“I _remember_ … But, I want to sleep _alone_.”

“Oh… I’ll be sleeping on the couch, then!” Hisoka said in a merry voice, but deep down he was disappointed. They were so close, why was Illumi  so cold now?

“The fact that we are going to have a baby doesn’t mean that we’re together. I need some  space…” Illumi buried his face in his hands.

“Okay…” Hisoka agreed, but he looked down,  so that Illumi couldn’t see his disappointed face.

Hisoka headed to the bedroom to put Illumi’s suitcase there. After the other’s confession, he was more than disappointed; he had to hide his upset face. Once in the bedroom, he sat on the bed and massaged his temples. He was rethinking the situation. Why did Illumi say such a thing? He was driving him crazy! They hadn’t  know each other for a long time, but Hisoka couldn’t imagine life without him. The clown took a few deep breaths. He was ready to go back to his guest. Illumi was still sitting in the position Hisoka left him.

“You seem rather shaken,” Hisoka announced with a worried face when he entered the living room. “Do you want hot cocoa? It’ll make you feel better!” The magician smiled with his eyes and mouth.

Illumi didn’t answer; he kept his face buried in his hands. Hisoka could hear him sniffling.

“Hey...” The clown sat next to him and held him tightly. “There’s no need to cry, we’ll get through this.”

“Why do you have to be so goddamn nice?” Illumi inquired, sobbing.

“Calm down, Lumi. It’s just hormones…”

“Yeah, and it sucks. I’m so confused. I don’t know what to think…” He breathed harshly through his sobs, revealing his white knuckles.

Suddenly, Hisoka jerked from the couch and grabbed the blanket that was lying nearby.

“What are you doing?” Illumi’s eyes widened as Hisoka wrapped  him with the blanket.

“Do you remember what I promised you after the first time we made love?” He inquired with a grin.

“That you would always keep me warm…” Illumi murmured.

“Exactly! I just want you to know that you’re not alone…” They retained steady eye contact for a while. Then, he finally noticed that the corner of Illumi’s mouth rose. “I’m going to make us some cocoa!”

* * *

 

_Four Months into the Pregnancy_

* * *

 

“Lumi, do you need anything~ ♥?”

Hisoka entered the room that used to be his bedroom. Now, Illumi completely occupied it. He slept here and kept his belongings here. Because of his pregnancy, he couldn’t work as an assassin, but he discovered a passion for sewing. The room was full of fabric of all colors and patterns and clothing that he made. Instead of killing or manipulating people, he used his needles to form shapes of clothes. Illumi also brokered his assassin missions; he sent Hisoka on them.

“Thank you, I’m fine,” he replied, fully focused on his work.

“I supplied the fridge. You should have enough food until I come back.”

“Ah, you’re leaving for a mission?” Illumi looked from the dress that he was sewing to Hisoka.

“Yes, tomorrow. I’ll be back in three days. Hey, maybe you should take a break? Don’t overwork yourself, Illumi. It’s not good for the child.”

Illumi completely ignored his advice though.

“Can you believe that when I sell all of those clothes,” Illumi pointed to the pile of outfits in the corner of the room, “I’ll have enough money to rent an apartment? Of course, not a big one, just one room, but it’s a good start. I can finally move out from here and you’ll get your room back! Sorry, that it took so long!” He smiled and went back to sewing.

Hisoka stepped forward. “You don’t bother me, Lumi~ ♥!” he assured him with a wide smile.

Illumi’s face flushed, veins throbbing in his neck. He clenched his jaw and fists as he yelled, “For fuck’s sake, I’m not comfortable living here!” Illumi tossed the dress he had been working on to the floor.

Hisoka was used to his unexpected outbursts of anger, Illumi had them very often since he was pregnant, but this confession broke his heart. The clown’s eyes widened and he raised his eyebrows. “While living here I am under the impression that I owe you, and I hate myself for that!” Illumi screamed, clenching his fists. His eyes turned glossy.

“Hey, you don’t owe me anything!” Hisoka kneeled in front of him, grabbing Illumi’s hands, caressing them gently with his thumbs.

“No, I’ve decided. I promised that I would move out as soon as I was able to. You can visit me… _us_.”

“Okay.” The clown smiled faintly. “Now excuse me, I still have a few things to do before I set off tomorrow.” Hisoka stood up and walked out of the room, closing the door behind him.

He had already come up with a plan to keep Illumi with him. He took his cellphone from his pant’s pocket. He dialed a number and waited patiently until the person picked up.

“Hello?” Finally, he heard a melodious, girly voice.

“Machi? It’s me, Hisoka~ ♥.”

“Yeah, I remember you. What do you want?”

Machi never liked him, though they were in the same gang of thieves before.

“I have a proposition for you. You can make some money…”

“I’m all ears…”

After a short conversation with his ex-comrade, he went to the living room to find a coupon to the spa that he got some time ago during his last visit there. The coupon was out-of-date as expected, but Hisoka activated his nen and used Texture Surprise to create a new layer on the paper. Now, the coupon was valid to today. He dashed to the bedroom again.

“Lumi, look what I’ve found while packing! A coupon to the spa! And, it’s valid only until today! It would be a shame, if it went to waste!”

“Then, go use it,” Illumi muttered, busy with his sewing.

“Ah, I don’t have time for this today! I’d like to give it to you! You can go get a massage! You work so hard, and recently you  complained that your back hurts…”

“Hmm, okay, put it on the nightstand. I’ll go as soon as I finish decorating this dress. There isn’t much work left.”

“Wonderful.” The magician grinned at him, putting the coupon in the indicated place. “I’m going back to packing,” he announced and left.

Soon, Illumi left the bedroom too. “I’m going out,” he declared, putting on his shoes.

“Okay, have fun~ ♥,” Hisoka beamed.

Right after Illumi left the apartment, Hisoka dashed to the bedroom and started packing clothes sewed by Illumi into big, plastic bags. Machi should arrive in a while; she would take the clothes and sell them somewhere, keeping the money for herself.

_When Lumi can’t sell these clothes, he’ll stay with me even longer ♥._

Hisoka was already imagining their future life together with a cute, little baby. Their shared meals, baths, and walks. Illumi would teach their baby martial arts while he would teach them magic tricks. He wondered what type of nen his future child would have. Considering that the baby’s fathers were such powerful and talented nen users, Hisoka was certain that their child would be talented in that field as well. Illumi’s voice snapped him out of his thoughts.

“What the hell are you doing, Hisoka?”

The jester turned around slowly and saw Illumi standing at the entrance of the bedroom.

“What are you doing, Lumi? Shouldn’t you be enjoying your time at the spa?”

“I forgot the coupon.” Illumi shrugged his shoulders and pointed to the nightstand.

Hisoka looked at it. Indeed, the coupon was laying there. .

“You didn’t forget it. You knew it was a fake, didn’t you?” Hisoka inquired, lowering his head.

“Yeah, I could sense something fishy about it…”

Hisoka focused on coming up with a quick excuse, but at that moment Machi entered the apartment.

“Oi, clown! Are you ready with that stuff?!” she screamed from the entrance, going further into the apartment and finding the bedroom eventually. She froze when she found Illumi was there as well. “Whoops, I guess you’re not…” She eyed him carefully.

“I’m sorry Machi, our deal is off…”

“I see. You can never be trusted. I better get going before someone kills me…” She kept her eyes on the assassin. “Damn you, stupid clown…” she murmured, leaving the place.

“Why did you want to get rid of my clothes?! You know how hard I worked on them!”

Hisoka sighed deeply. There was no point in lying now, if he wanted to keep Illumi close. He should be sincere. “I’ll be honest with you, Lumi, I don’t want you to leave…” He sat down on the bed.

“Why didn’t you just tell me that?”

“I’ve told you, but you were so “I-want-to-move-out” that you didn’t notice it!”

Illumi wondered for a while. “You may be right.” He sat down next to Hisoka. “Why do you care so much about me staying here?”

“I’m not good with words…”

“Try it,” Illumi insisted.

Hisoka, instead of talking, pulled out a deck of cards, chose an Ace of Hearts and gave it to Illumi, who accepted it.

“Hisoka, you know that I don’t know shit about card meanings… What does it mean?” He asked, staring at it.

“Love and happiness,” the magician answered. He closed his eyes and lowered his head, smiling warmly. “This is what I feel when you’re around.”

“Oh. I don’t know what to say… I still don’t know how I feel.” Illumi was frankly shocked and overwhelmed by Hisoka’s confession, his eyes wide and staring into space. He gripped his knees. “I guess I have to stay here a little bit longer to figure it out...” He looked on Hisoka and maintained eye contact.

“You know that I’ll never kick you out.”

“Yes, I know. And, I’m sure of one thing, whether we will be living with each other or not, I want us to raise our baby together…”

“Oh, Lumi…” Hisoka placed his hand at the back of Illumi's head, pulled him closer  and gave him a brief kiss to his forehead.

Illumi rested his head on Hisoka’s shoulder and said in a low voice: “You know, you can sleep in the bedroom tonight, if you want to. It’s got to be uncomfortable sleeping on that couch all the time…”

“You don’t have to convince me.” Hisoka smirked.

* * *

 

_Six Months into the Pregnancy_

* * *

Hisoka was baking some pastries in the kitchen, dressed only in an apron, when Illumi dashed to the kitchen and opened the fridge. He was wearing loose pajamas because his belly was quite big.

“Where are the pickles?” He asked after a moment of searching.

“We ran out of pickles,” Hisoka informed him as he stirred the bowl.

“Then, go and get some! I want to eat some goddamn pickles!” He shrieked.

“But, I’m making you some delicious cookies…”

“I don’t care!” Illumi slammed the fridge’s door, jutting his chin out and clenching his fists.

“Fine, I’ll just put some clothes on.” Resigned, Hisoka left the bowl on the kitchen counter and went to the bedroom to change.

While Hisoka was out shopping, Illumi heard his cell ringing. He looked at the screen. It was his father. He immediately rejected the call. He hadn’t spoken with his family since he found out about the pregnancy. They all would worry about him, but he didn’t care.

Eventually, Hisoka came back with a big jar of pickles.

“I got them!” He smiled widely, proud of himself.

“I changed my mind. I want to eat ice cream.” He lifted his chin and crossed the arms.

“Oh… These will be for later, then.” He said, putting the jar into the fridge and taking out a box of ice cream. He handed it to Illumi.

“What is this?” He crinkled his nose.

“Ice cream like you wanted,” Hisoka answered politely.

“I can see that. But, this is vanilla flavored and I wanted a strawberry one!” He chucked the box onto the coffee table.

“I’m afraid that the vanilla one is the only one that was left…”

“Then, go back to the store!” Illumi panted.

“Lumi, I won’t-” Hisoka started talking, but the ringtone of Illumi’s cellphone rang once again.

Illumi rejected the call, violently tapping on the screen.

“Is it your father again?” Hisoka interrogated with care.

“Yeah…”

“Maybe you should finally answer him.” The clown sat down next to Illumi. “Your parents will be grandparents. I think they deserve to know it.”

“And, find out that I’m a total loser? I’ll pass.” He shook his head.

“Lumi, you’re not a loser… Just because your life doesn’t go according to plan doesn’t mean you’re a loser. We’re going to be the parents of a beautiful baby boy…” Hisoka gently caressed Illumi’s prominent stomach.

“How do you know it’ll be a boy? We don’t know the sex yet.”

“I don’t know, I just have a feeling…”

“And, I have a feeling that it’ll be a girl!” Illumi debated.

“Okay, I’m not going to argue with you.” Hisoka chuckled, still touching Illumi’s stomach. Suddenly, he felt a movement. “Hey! The baby is kicking!” he noticed, widening his eyes.

“Yeah, I can feel it.” Illumi smiled faintly. “You know, I’ll eat that vanilla ice cream while waiting for your cookies.”

“Great~ ♥.” Hisoka kissed him on the cheek and went back to baking.

 The next time Illumi’s phone rang, he answered it.

“Yes, father?”

“Illumi, you’ve finally picked up your phone! What’s happening with you?” He heard Silva’s worried voice over the speaker.

“I’m fine. Just there… were some changes in my life. I have something important to say to you.”

“I’m listening.”

“Are you sitting?” Illumi had to make sure.

“Hmm, yes. Illumi, what’s wrong? Tell me this instant!” Silva demanded.

“You’re going to be a grandfather.”

A moment of silence befell them. Illumi knew that his father was thinking over the situation. Finally, he spoke. “I’m sorry, you surprised me. Why don’t you come visit with your…” Silva paused; he didn’t want to say the following word, but finally he said it: “Girlfriend?”

“No Father, it’s not like that.”

“What do you mean?”

“ _I’m_ pregnant.”

“You’re confusing me, son…”

“In short, I disguised myself as a woman for one mission. I wasn’t careful and this happened…” Illumi’s voice trembled.

“Illumi? Are you okay?

“Yes, I’m just sorry.”

Silva took a deep breath. “You’re still welcome here,” he assured his son.

“Okay, I’ll come home soon. Can I bring my friend with me? He’s… he’s the father of the child.”

Silva hesitated. “Sure, why not? I’ll inform your mother about everything. We’re looking forward to your visit.”

“Thank you. Goodbye, Father.”

“Take care, Illumi.”

Illumi ended the call. He turned to Hisoka. “We’re going to the Zoldyck mansion!”

The clown smiled in response.

* * *

 

Illumi’s parents welcomed him and Hisoka at the entrance.

“Aw, my dearest Illumi!” Kikyo rushed to hug him and kiss both of his cheeks. Then, she stepped back, staring at his large stomach. “I always wanted to be a grandma, but I never thought I’d become one under such extraordinary circumstances…”

“Darling…” Silva cut in.

“Right, and who’s this young man?” She asked, directing her electronic vision to Hisoka.

“That’s Hisoka, my friend.” Kikyo cringed as she heard that word.  “And, the father.”

Hisoka bowed, grabbed Kikyo’s hand, and kissed it delicately. She yanked her hand back as soon as he did that. “I knew that the mother of such a wonderful person as Illumi must be gorgeous as well,” he uttered, giving her a bouquet of pink roses and a small package wrapped in decorative paper. Inside of it, there was a luxurious, silver necklace.

“What’s this?” She raised her eyebrows in surprise.

“I brought you a gift.” Hisoka stood tall, his hands clasped behind his back, and sent Kikyo a firm smile.

“How thoughtful of you…” Illumi’s mother frowned, but accepted the presents.

“Let’s go inside, shall we?” Silva finally proposed. “The servants prepared a delicious meal for your visit.” The man of the house ushered them straight to the dining room. The rest of the household were coming to the table as well. A plump, black-haired boy entered the room.

“This is Milluki, he was born after me. He loves playing computer games and collecting figures. He hardly ever leaves the house,” Illumi explained to Hisoka. The clown nodded.

After Milluki, came a short person with an androgynous appearance, dressed in a kimono. “This is Kalluto, the youngest of the family.” Illumi kept presenting his brothers.

Next, three children came in. The one with long, black hair and dressed in traditional Japanese clothes ran to Illumi, hugged his stomach, and exclaimed joyfully: “Illumi’s having a baby!”

“Yes, I will,” Illumi smiled faintly and stroked the child’s hair. “This is Alluka, the second youngest one.”

“Hello!” The child grinned at Hisoka.

“Hello,” the clown replied with a warm smile.

Alluka let go of Illumi and took a place at the table. “The white-haired one is Killua, the middle child.” He informed Hisoka. “Hey, Killua, who’s the boy with you?” Illumi didn’t know the black-haired boy who kept a smile on his face.

“It’s Gon. He’s my friend.” Killua clarified.

Illumi observed as his mother cringed once again, hearing the word ‘friend’.

“Really, what’s with the kids and their friends these days?!” she cried.

“Calm down, sweetheart.” Silva placed his hand on hers.

Into the room came Zeno, the senior of the family. Everyone was present and the servants started bringing out the food.

“How did the two of you met?” Kikyo wanted to know.

A bead of sweat trailed down the side of Illumi’s face and he bit his lip. He couldn’t tell his family the truth. But, before he could even open his mouth, Hisoka started talking.

“We met during one of Lumi’s missions while he was disguised as a woman. I fell in love at the first sight~.” The magician sighed dreamily.

Illumi looked at him with affection.

Kikyo jutted her chin, veins throbbing in her neck.

“Hisoka, what are you doing in your life?” Silva pressed.

“I’m a floor master at Heaven’s Arena. Currently, I’m also taking on Illumi’s missions.”

“What a resourceful young man!” Zeno exclaimed.

Kikyo sighed deeply. “And, what do you plan to do when the child is born?” she asked.

“Illumi will go back to his missions and I’ll be the best stay-at-home dad ever!” Hisoka announced with a wide smile.

A silence befell the table.

Silva broke the silence. “Sounds like a plan…”

“Yeah, a terrible one,” added his wife. “Are you okay with that, Illumi?”

“Mother…” Illumi rolled his eyes. The other family members looked from him to his mother.

“Darling, we gathered here to welcome our son who we haven’t seen in a long time. Can we postpone this conversation and make our meal as enjoyable as possible?” Silva tried to mend the situation.

“Fine.” Kikyo spat and remained quiet. Luckily, Killua and Gon started a conversation about their adventures and kept it until the end of the dinner.

After the repast, they went to the living room. Kikyo invited Illumi to a private conversation, while Hisoka entertained Killua, Gon, and Alluka with his magic tricks. Silva accompanied his wife. The parents and their son moved into a nearby room.

“Illumi, I have a proposition for you: You can return home and we’ll take care of you and your baby, just leave this… _clown_ ,” Kikyo negotiated.

“And, why would I do that?” Illumi asked calmly, but his jaw was clenched.

“He’s not a suitable person for you,” Kikyo justified.

“And, who are you to decide that about my life?” Illumi raised his voice.

“I’m your mother, I get to dictate your life!”

“Yeah, but apparently you forgot that I’m an adult and I can make my own decisions!”

“Illumi, stop it please! It’s not you, it’s the hormones talking!” she cried out in despair.

“No, Mother, I’m just sick of you being so overprotective!” Illumi hissed.

“Silva, say something!” She turned to her husband in a last ditch effort.

“Illumi, are you happy?” Silva asked him simply, massaging his temples.

Illumi pondered this. He remembered all the moments he spent with Hisoka, how much the clown had pampered him since he found out that he would be a father: his late night visits to shops for pickles and ice cream, cooking Illumi’s favorite pastries, massaging Illumi’s sore feet, petting his ever growing stomach, and even having conversations with their unborn child! And even if Illumi got moody and threw whatever what was in the reach at Hisoka, the magician didn’t give up. Illumi didn’t want to admit it, but he had gotten attached to him as they lived together.

_Ace of Hearts. Love and happiness._

“Yes, I am.”

“Did you hear that, Kikyo? Do you want to make our son unhappy?” He turned to his wife. Kikyo didn’t know what to say.

“I love you and my brothers, but I promise, if you keep harassing me to live here, I’m leaving immediately and you’ll never hear from me again,” Illumi said firmly. Kikyo gasped, seeing a cold determination in her son’s eyes. “Can I leave now?” Illumi inquired.

“Y-Yes,” Kikyo stammered. “The servants prepared a guest room for Hisoka. You can lead him there,” she added.

“Hisoka is sleeping with me.” Illimi chuckled, leaving the room.

“Oi, Illumi Zoldyck, come back here!” Kikyo squealed, face red. “Silva, why are you allowing him to behave like that? It’s outrageous!”

“He’s an adult, honey. They already have  a child on the way, they can’t do anything more inappropriate than that.”

“I can’t believe you said that…” She nervously waved her fan.

“Trust me, you may not like him, but he cares about our son. The presents he gave you means he wants to win your heart. I did the same with your mother…”

Suddenly, they heard Zeno’s voice. “That’s true!”

Kikyo jumped. “Papa, you scared me! What are you doing here? Have you been there all this time?”

“I was interested in this conversation. I know how to hide my presence when it’s necessary… Anyway, do you know this quote: ‘If you love something, let it go. If it comes back to you, it’s yours forever. If it doesn’t, then it was never meant to be’?”

“Is that supposed to be about Illumi?” Kikyo asked.

"Yes. He's your son and I believe you raised him well. He's going through a hard time right now and needs some space."

"I hope you're right, Papa." Kikyo sighed deeply.

* * *

 

“If only you could have seen their faces! My mother fluffed her cheeks like this.” Illumi demonstrated to Hisoka. “And, she was all red!” He laughed hard.

They were standing near the terrace railing of the Zoldyck mansion. It was already dark out. The starry sky spread out above them, rose bushes surrounded them. Hisoka’s eyes were focused only on Illumi though.

“Lumi, you’re actually smiling.” Hisoka tilted his head back and parted his lips slightly.

“Is something wrong?” Illumi furrowed his brows, looking at the other with a fixed gaze.

“Nothing, it’s just… I hardly ever see you expressing any emotions…”

There was a pregnant pause.

“You know, you’re my Ace of Hearts, Hisoka.” Illumi said slowly with a dazed look.

Hisoka froze, his mouth agape.

“What’s wrong? You look ridiculous.” Illumi placed his hand on Hisoka’s chin and moved it, so his mouth closed.

“Nothing, I’m just… _shocked_. I never thought you would say that!” Hisoka approached him and stood at Illumi’s back, wrapping his muscular arms around his stomach, touching it gently. “But, it’s a positive shock.” The jester smooched Illumi’s ear.

“Oi, that tickles!” Illumi tried to escape the other’s hold, but Hisoka held him firmly. The both of them giggled in the moonlight.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Damn, it took me over 9 months to complete this chapter but finally here it is! I'm sorry it took so long, but both my beta reader and me were busy! 
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoy and see you at the end of the chapter!

 

“I feel like a whale…” Illumi sighed, lying in a hospital bed.

“A really cute one~ ♥!” Hisoka, who sat next to him, winked, holding Illumi’s hand tightly.

“How can you be so cheerful even in a moment like this?” Illumi inquired with a serious face.

The pregnancy was coming to an end, but there was still a month to the expected termination. Illumi hadn’t felt good recently and ended up at the hospital for some necessary check-ups.

“I really don’t want to lose this child…” Illumi’s eyes turned glossy.

“Shh, everything will be alright,” Hisoka tried to soothe him. He leaned towards his lover, holding his hand tighter and petting Illumi’s soft dark hair.

“Are my parents here yet?” Illumi asked with a trembling voice.

“Not yet, darling,” Hisoka replied. That moment, the doctor entered the room. He was a tall man with short black hair. He wore a pair of small glasses and an indigo suit under his lab coat.

“Miss Zoldyck?” he asked.

“That is me,” Illumi replied faintly.

“I’m Leorio Paladinight, MD. I got your results…And, who are you? Are you a family member?” The doctor turned his eyes to Hisoka, looking at him suspiciously.

“I’m the father of the child, I think that makes me a family member,” he responded cockily.

“Let him stay, we want to know what’s happening to our child,” Illumi demanded.

Leorio cleared his throat. “Well, there is a serious fetal distress. Also, your pelvis is too small, so I’d advise conducting a C-section as soon as possible.”

“But, it’s too early for that!” Illumi thrashed onto his bed, his lips trembling.

“Trust me, babies younger than yours are born healthy. It would be more harmful to let the pregnancy go to term,” Leorio assured them.

“Did you hear that? Everything will be fine!” Hisoka grinned.

“Here’s a consent form for your operation, please fill it.” Leorio handed Illumi the papers and a pen. “Do you have any questions?”

Illumi and Hisoka shook their heads.

“Great, call me when you’re ready.” The doctor smiled and went out of the room.

“Fill it for me, I can’t do it.” Illumi passed the papers to Hisoka.

“Should I fake your signature too?” he wondered.

Illumi sent him a deadly look.

“Fine, fine…” Hisoka nodded and began to read the papers. When he was done, he gave them to Illumi to sign.

* * *

 

“Okay, we’re ready to take you to the operating room.” Leorio entered the room with two nurses.

“But, my parents aren’t here yet…,” Illumi said with a faint voice because of the anesthesia. “Hisoka?”

“I’m here.” He leaned towards Illumi, holding his hand all this time.

“We cannot wait any longer.” Leorio completed the papers, and the nurses moved Illumi’s bed into the corridor. Hisoka accompanied them all the way to surgery.

“You mustn’t go any further,” one of the nurses informed him before the entrance.

“Illumi, listen, I can’t go in there with you, but I’m you’re always in my thoughts.” He smiled and let go of his hand.

“Oh, but I love you…,” Illumi whispered.

“What?” Hisoka couldn’t believe his ears. He stood, his eyes wide and the corners of his lips stretched.

“I love you,” Illumi repeated louder, his speech still hard to understand. But, Hisoka was sure that he didn’t mishear.

“I love you too…,” he said quietly, but Illumi couldn’t hear it, he was behind the door already.

* * *

 

 

Hisoka was sitting in a corridor and calmly shuffling his deck of cards, waiting for the operation to end, when Illumi’s mother popped in the corridor like a bomb had just gone off.

“Where is he?” she asked with a trembling voice, waving her fan nervously.

“Still in surgery,” Hisoka replied in a soothing voice. It didn’t work with Kikyo though.

“How can you be so calm?” she inquired hysterically.

If only she knew how worried Hisoka was on the inside! He had to stay calm outside though. What would happen if everybody panicked in a tough situation like her? In his mind’s eye, Hisoka watched as he threw his cards at Kikyo, so she could finally shut up. They pinned her to the wall, red blood running from the cuts…

_Not a good idea…_

At that moment, Silva caught up his wife.

“How’s the situation?” he inquired.

“We have to wait…Oh Silva, I can’t wait, what if something bad is happening?” Kikyo warbled.

“Honey calm down, Illumi is being taken care of by the doctors, it’ll be fine.” Silva took her by her arms and made her sit down next to Hisoka. Hisoka looked at her and smirked.

“I’m his mother! I have a right to worry about my child!”

Silence befell. After a few minutes, a nurse came out of surgery. Hisoka and Kikyo stood up.

“How’s Illumi?” they both asked and then glared at each other.

“Excuse me, but who are you?”

“We’re parents,” they both replied at the same time.

“I’m the father of the child,” Hisoka explained .

“And I’m Illumi’s mother,” Kikyo added .

“Ah, I see. Miss Zoldyck and the baby are stable. Due to the premature birth and some breathing problems during it, the baby has to spend some time in an incubator though. You’re the father of a beautiful baby girl, congratulations!” The nurse smiled widely. Hisoka threw himself over her while the Zoldycks hugged each other.

“Umm, sir? Excuse me, but I have to go back to work…” the nurse said sheepishly.

“Right…” He let her go. “Just one more question: can I…can we see them?”

“Not yet, but someone will inform you when you can,” she assured them and walked away.

“See, everything is okay. Do you know what you’ll name her?” Silva wanted to know.

“Since it’s a girl she will be named Illuka. We chose combinations of our first names in two forms: for a boy and for a girl.”

“I think it’s nice. And, it keeps the Zoldyck naming tradition,” Kikyo admitted. Hisoka couldn’t help but to smirk. “What about the last name then?” she continued the subject.

“It’s Zoldyck of course!”

Kikyo stared at him with her electronic vision. Maybe she misjudged him in the beginning?

“Shall we eat something at the cafeteria?” Silva proposed. “I bet we’re all pretty hungry because of those emotions…”

“That’s a good idea, honey,” Kikyo agreed with her husband. “Are you joining us, Hisoka?” She turned to him.

“Ca-can I?” he stammered, surprised.

“I won’t be asking twice!”

Hisoka followed them.

 

* * *

 

 

When they finished their meal, they were told that they could visit Illumi. The first one to enter Illumi’s room was his mother. She ran towards his bed and threw herself over him, shouting, “Illumi! How are you feeling?”

Next, Silva appeared, walking calmly and standing near his wife and son. Hisoka stood at the entrance and couldn’t move. He didn’t want to interrupt this happy family scene, but he also didn’t want to wander off. His legs felt like they were made of iron. At that moment, Illumi noticed him and called his name, pointing at him, “Hisoka!”

Hisoka approached him shyly. “Yes?”

“You will be my husband, right?” Illumi inquired when Hisoka stood close to him.

Hisoka didn’t know what to say and remained silent until he finally spoke. “Lumi, you’re still under the effects of the medicine, stop saying such things…,” he tried to hush him.

“No, no, no…” Illumi giggled. “We’ll have a big wedding.” Illumi stretched his arms out as if he wanted to show how big it would be. “There will be a lot of flowers, and drinks and food, yeah a lot of food, that’s essential at weddings!” he whispered in a serious voice.

“Oh god,” Kikyo groaned, waving her fan rapidly.

“Hush, Mother!” Illumi silenced her. “Hisoka will be my beloved husband,” he announced with a goofy smile.

“Yeah, right.” There was an uneasy smile on Hisoka’s face. “How about you rest before our big day?”

“You’re so smart!” Illumi praised him with a toothy grin.

The nurse entered the room.

“You can see your baby!” she announced.

Nobody moved though.

“Go, we’ll stay with Illumi,” Silva ordered Hisoka.

“Okay…” Hisoka nodded, hesitant. He wanted to go there, and yet, he was scared to go there at the same time. Finally, he slowly followed the nurse. She ushered him to the room where Illuka was. They stood in a front of an enormous window through which they could see a few infants in some incubators. Hisoka immediately recognized his daughter though. She laid by the window so when he looked closer, he could see red tufts on her head and big eyes like Illumi’s.

“She’s stable, but she needs to lie in an incubator for a few days.” The nurse informed him. “May I ask what name you’ve decided on? We need it for our documentation,” she asked.

“Yes,” Hisoka answered, keeping his eyes on the baby. “Illuka Morrow Zoldyck. That’s her full name.”

“Okay, I’m going back to work, excuse me.” The nurse left him alone.

“Welcome, little princess…,” he whispered, still looking at her and smiling to himself.

* * *

 

After a few days, Illumi and the baby were finally released from hospital. They all went to Hisoka’s apartment. Kikyo insisted on staying a little bit longer, but Silva convinced her to go back to the mansion. He had planned a mission with Zeno soon and told his wife that the mansion couldn’t be without supervision. That way, Illumi and Hisoka could enjoy their first moments with their newborn daughter by themselves.

While Illumi changed Illuka’s diaper, Hisoka was narrating how Illumi had promised to marry him while he had been on drugs.

“Ugh, I really said that?” Illumi flushed.

“Yes~.” Hisoka giggled.

“Give me the powder,” Illumi ordered. Hisoka handed him the bottle.

“I don’t blame you, everyone wants to marry a sexy beast like me…”

“Give me a diaper,” Illumi completely ignored him and asked for another thing. Hisoka did what he had been asked.

“Also, it was not you, just the drugs making you say that..”

“Hisoka, what the hell are you saying? We’re done, can we go to sleep finally?” Illumi rolled his eyes, lifting up Illuka. If only Hisoka knew that the drugs had made him speak sincerely! Just before he entered labor he secretly started to dream about a wedding. He was a family man after all. Family had always been important to him. He wasn’t sure if Hisoka wanted the same thing. He didn’t want to force Hisoka to commit to such a serious thing like marriage.

“What? So fast?” Hisoka was actually surprised that he changed the diaper so quickly. “You’re a real master of it, Lumi!” he praised, following him to the bedroom.

“I have four younger siblings after all, don’t you remember?” he asked, placing Illuka in her crib.

“Right, right.” Hisoka quickly nodded. “I’m going to shower, I’ll be back in a few minutes,” he informed Illumi and disappeared behind the bathroom door.

Illumi tucked himself under the sheets. He lied down on his left side and closed his eyes. He had already managed to doze off, but was awakened by Hisoka who lied down behind him and hugged him closely.

“What are you doing?” Illumi murmured through his sleep.

“Getting ready to sleep~.”

“Can you do it…away from me?”

“Lumi, what’s wrong?” Hisoka actually sat up. Illumi turned around, so that they were now face to face. Hisoka looked so vulnerable with his hair down and without make-up. Illumi started to feel sorry for him.

“Nothing. I’m just tired and I haven’t gotten any proper sleep while someone hangs at my back,” he explained. “We’ll hug in the morning, okay?” he added. Hisoka’s face beamed in an instant.

“Okay. What about a goodnight kiss?”

“Fine,” Illumi agreed.

But, an innocent kiss turned into more passionate kisses and Hisoka’s fingers started running down Illumi’s torso. He went down and down, stopping at his hip when they heard Illuka’s cry.

Hisoka broke the kiss, smiling. “You won’t allow your fathers to have a little bit fun, hmm?”

Illumi giggled. “I’ll go to her,” he offered.

“No, you rest. I’ll go.” Hisoka stood up and went to the crib. He lifted Illuka up  and checked her diaper. “It’s dry. And we fed her not so long ago. I don’t know what’s going on. What’s up, little princess?” He rocked her gently in his arms. She didn’t stop crying though.

“Give her here.” Illumi patted the space next to him.

“What? Like in the bed?”

“Yeah, why not?”

Hisoka did as Illumi said. He lied Illuka between them. Almost instantly, she calmed down.

“Let her sleep here. I’m afraid that she will start crying again if we move her,” said Illumi.

“And, I’m afraid that we’ll crush her in our sleep,” opposed Hisoka.

“No, we won’t.”

“But, she’s so little…and fragile and…”

“Hush Hisoka, I want to sleep.” Illumi’s eyes were already closed.

Hisoka stared at Illuka for a long time until his eyelids fluttered and he fell asleep.

* * *

 

**9 months old**

“And, what if I do something wrong?” Hisoka wondered, rocking Illuka in his arms.

“You’ll be fine,” said Illumi, packing the last things into his bag.

It was the first time he was going on a mission since labor, and it was the first time Hisoka was going to stay by himself with his daughter. He was so nervous because, after all, it was Illumi who took care of Illuka most of the time since he had more experience with children. Hisoka helped him as much as he could, but he had never been alone with a child and that freaked him out.

“Okay, I’m out!” Illumi grabbed the bag. He kissed both Illuka and Hisoka on their foreheads before he  went out.

“Bye!” Hisoka was helplessly staring at the closed door. Then, he turned his gaze to Illuka. “We’ll have a lot of fun, right?” he said without confidence.

Illuka looked at him with her big black eyes, the ones that reminded him of Illumi so much. He sighed deeply.

“We’ll have so much fun together, right little princess?” He grinned at her.

“Da!” she just snorted, pointing her arm into space. Hisoka placed her on the carpet and pulled out a deck of cards.

“Okay, so do you want to see how Daddy does tricks?” He sat opposite of her.

Illuka looked at him without enthusiasm. Hisoka began to build a card castle. When it was big enough, Illuka crawled to it and shattered it with her little hand. All the cards fell on her, and she burst with melodic laughter.

“You really like destruction, don’t you?” Hisoka took a deep breath. “That’s my blood!”

At that moment he noticed that Illuka’s eyes had turned glossy.

_Oh no, she’ll start crying in 3,2,1…_

The room was filled with Illuka’s scream. Hisoka took her in his arms.

“Shh, what’s the matter?” he asked with a worried voice.

Illumi could recognize what Illuka wanted only by the type of her cry. He claimed that she sounded different whether she wanted to eat, be hugged, or needed a diaper change. Hisoka couldn’t hear that difference. For him a cry was a cry. He felt like an awful father because of that.

“Okay, first diaper check…,” he told himself, remembering Illumi’s advice.

And bingo! That was it. He walked towards the changing table and lied her down on it. He took off the dirty diaper and reached for a new one. But, to his horror, he realized that they had run out of diapers. How was this possible? Then, he remembered that Illumi had asked him to buy them two days ago, but he completely forgot to do it. Now, he had to face the consequences of his poor memory.

_What do we do…?_

Illumi left a note with his mother’s phone number if Hisoka had any troubles with Illuka, but he didn’t want to use that number at all costs. He didn’t want Kikyo to know that he couldn’t handle his own daughter. Hisoka was thinking intensively. Finally, he got an idea. He activated his Texture Surprise and formed a diaper from it around Illuka’s hips. She seemed as if she felt comfortable with it and didn’t cry anymore. Hisoka looked at his work with content.

“Okay, now let’s go to get diapers!” He dressed Illuka in a colorful crawler. “Ah, just one more thing!” He painted a tear and a star on Illuka’s cheeks,  so their make-up matched. “We both look fabulous now!” He took Illuka and put her in her baby carriage. He also grabbed a bag in which he put money, his keys, his phone, and a bottle filled with milk if Illuka got hungry. Then, they left the apartment.

First, they went to a shop with baby accessories. Hisoka couldn’t stop himself. He had to try out miscellaneous baby clothes and accessories on his daughter.

“You look lovely, my little princess,” he complimented her. He put a pink headband with a flower on her head. “She’s so cute, isn’t she?” Hisoka asked the shopkeeper for confirmation. The woman thought that the little girl was cute indeed, with her red hair and black eyes, but the baby’s father scared her a lot. Fortunately, he left after buying the headband and a few other things without doing any harm.

“Phew, shopping has already worn me out.” Hisoka sighed. “Luckily, there’s a place where we can rest nearby.” Saying that, he started to head towards it. He placed the baby carriage’s at the table and headed to the bar to order a bottle of soda.

While he was away, two young women who were passing by the carriage, stopped by it to admire Illuka.

“What a pretty baby!”

“Is that  make-up?”

“Yes, she must have very creative parents!”

“Maybe they’re artists?”

“Where are your parents, sweetie?”

“Here I am!” Hisoka suddenly appeared in front of them. The women eyed him carefully. They didn’t expect that the father of such a cute baby would look so scary. He looked as if he had ran away from a circus. He wore clown clothes and make-up, but his smirk was horrifying, and there was something evil in his eyes. They ran away screaming.

“What happened to them?” he wondered aloud. He put the soda on the table and pulled out the bottle from the bag. He placed it by the soda. Then, he took Illuka out of the carriage and sat down, placing her on his lap. He handed her the milk bottle, which the girl accepted and started to suck greedily. Hisoka took a sip from his bottle.

“You know, this is the place where Illumi told me that we would have you,” he informed the child. But, all Illuka cared about was her bottle. Hisoka sighed deeply. “Your Daddy became quite sentimental, you know?” He stared out into space, mindlessly. It was the first day of Illumi’s departure, and he already missed him so much! The father and daughter finished their drinks in silence. Suddenly, Hisoka felt something wet on his lap. That same moment, Illuka began to cry.

“Oh no, I can see that the Texture Surprise diaper isn’t very absorbent! Luckily, we bought diapers!” Hisoka grinned at Illuka. “Daddy just has to grab them and we can go to the bathroom to change...” He bent down to check the bottom of the carriage and grab the diapers when he remembered something.

“Dammit,” he whispered a curse. He was so preoccupied with cute baby clothes and accessories that he forgot to buy diapers! He smacked his face with his palm. He had no other choice but to use Texture Surprise again.

“Shh, we’ll go to the toilet already!” Hisoka hushed his daughter and headed inside the building. Of course the male bathroom wasn’t equipped with a changing table, so he had to walk into the ladies’ room. He had just entered when an old, chubby lady who was washing her hands started yelling at him, “Get out, you pervert!”

“But, I’m here to change my daughter’s diaper…” He pointed to the changing table in the corner.

“A man like you is a father? I don’t believe it! You just probably stole this baby so you could go into the ladies’ rooms and peep women!” she accused.

That remark really got on Hisoka’s nerves. He imagined cutting the throat of that old cow with one of his cards, blood spilling everywhere: on the walls, mirror, floor, on him, and Illuka… right, Illuka! He couldn’t forget about his daughter! He got over his horrifying daydream and realized that Illuka was completely quiet while she had been screaming at the top of her lungs a while ago. Did his bloodlust calm her down? He looked at her, and she stared at him with her big, curious eyes.

“Is there a problem?” Hisoka heard a female voice behind him. It was the waitress that served him and Illumi the day Illumi revealed that he was pregnant. But, Hisoka didn’t recognize her.

“Yes, I just came in here to change my daughter’s diaper, but this woman has some kind of problem with it,” he explained.

“Oh, it’s you! I remember you, you found out that you would be a father at our café! Is it this child? She’s so big!” the waitress amused.

“Excuse me, will you address this situation, miss?” the lady asked, irritated.

“Oh right, you can use the worker’s toilet, sir. We don’t have a changing table, but there’s a small side table you can use it. You won’t disturb any ladies there, follow me.” The waitress ushered him to the back. The old lady just spat with contempt.

Finally in the workers’ toilet, Hisoka placed Illuka on the side table and undressed her. Then, he wiped her with paper towels and used Texture Surprise to make a diaper and cover the wet spots on his and Illuka’s clothes. Finally, he dressed her and went out.

“Okay, we’ll go back to the store. This time, we’ll definitely get you diapers!”

* * *

 

At the end of that exhausting day, Hisoka put Illuka into her playpen.

“Wait here patiently while Daddy takes a shower, okay?” He left her with a pile of plushies and went to the bathroom. Soon, he came out of it, dressed only in two towels: one around his hips and one around his neck. He quickly noticed that there was no trace of Illuka in the room.

“Illuka?” he called, looking everywhere around the room. She definitely wasn’t in the playpen where she was supposed to be, or any other part of the bedroom.

“Illuka?!” Hisoka repeated her name louder, more anxious this time. He stepped into the living room.

_Please be there, Illumi will kill me if something happened to you…_

At first, he heard only his quickened breathing. He swallowed thickly and bit his lip. He darted around the room, wiping his clammy palms with a towel.

To his relief the baby was in the kiving room, but what she was doing?! She was crawling up the high rack, almost at the top of it. Hisoka had no idea how such a small child managed to do that, but it was not the time to think about that.

“Illuka!” he called in a sharp voice.

Hearing her dad’s voice, she turned her small head around.

“Da?” she uttered with excitement. That way, she lost her balance, and let go of the shelf she was holding. She started falling and Hisoka was too far away to catch her, but he shot Bungee Gum towards her. A pink aura stuck to the baby’s body, and with its help, Hisoka managed to keep her up in the air.

“Phew, you almost gave me a heart attack.” Hisoka was breathing shallowly, pearls of sweat covering his body. He ran towards his daughter and took her into his arms.

“You can’t go out of your playpen, Illuka,” he warned her. “What if I didn’t manage to catch you?”

Illuka said nothing, just stared at him with those big black eyes.

_Reminds me of Illumi…_

Hisoka sighed deeply and decided, “Okay, let’s get you a bath. I prepared a wonderful bath for you! Then, we’ll get some food and go to sleep!” Hisoka had a great plan for the evening. But, not everything went according to it. He couldn’t get Illuka to fall asleep no matter what. He walked with her around the apartment, rocking her in his arms; he lied down with her in the bed; and he even caught her in his Bungee Gum and rocked her, talking about the properties of his aura, but none of those methods worked. Completely exhausted, he decided to call Illumi despite how late it was. He answered after a few dials.

“Yes?”

“Illumi, were you asleep?”

“No.”

“Good, are you alone?”

“Yes, what’s happening?”

“Illuka can’t fall asleep, I thought that maybe you could sing to her since it always makes her sleepy.”

Hiska could tell Illumi was rolling his eyes

“Fine,” he agreed and started to sing a lullaby. Hisoka brought the phone closer to Illuka so she could hear it. It worked and soon she closed her eyes. Hisoka sighed in relief. He didn’t tell Illumi to stop though, his angelic voice making him feel calm and giving him the impression that Illumi was near him.

“Hisoka?” He finally heard his name from the speaker.

“Huh?”

“Did you fall asleep too?” Illumi giggled.

“Kind of…” Hisoka admitted dreamily. “I can’t wait for you to come back, Lumi…”

“Just one more day, you can handle it.”

“I hope so… I love you, Lumi.”

“I love you too.”

Hisoka smiled to himself and hang up.

* * *

 

**4 years old**

Years have passed and Illumi became a well-paid assassin. Hisoka looked after their daughter when he was out on the missions.

Illumi was absent due to his work, but he was about to come back the next day, so Hisoka was in a marvelous mood. He decided to take Illuka to the park. There was a playground area where she could play with other children. It was such a shame that most of them had to go home when he arrived with Illuka! But, it was the only occasion when Illuka had contact with her peers. He was worried that she wouldn’t have any friends, and he wondered if they should sign her up for pre-school.

“Come here little princess!” he called. Illuka ran to him with loud footsteps. “Do you want to go to the park?”

“Yes!” Illuka clapped with her little hands.

“Then, we have to get ready.”

Hisoka dressed her in a peach dress and brushed her wavy red hair. He placed a flower pin in her hair. Then, he did their make-up: one star and one tear on each of their cheeks. Illuka always had so much fun with it. When they were both ready to go, they left the apartment.

Going out with Illuka was a real adventure; she was curious of the world around her and always had so many questions about it that sometimes Hisoka couldn’t keep up with her.

“What’s this, Daddy?” she asked, running around a big tree.

“It’s a tree,” Hisoka replied shortly.

“I know, but which one? There are many trees, but they are different and have different names. So, what do you call a tree like this?” she persisted.

Hisoka didn’t know much about the kinds of trees, so he got away with,“Papa Illumi knows more about the trees. We’ll ask him when he gets back, okay?”

“Okay.” She nodded.

Soon they arrived at the playground. There were a few mothers with their children, not many but still. They quickly noticed Hisoka with his daughter, coming up to them.

“Oh no, it’s this weirdo again…,” said one mother.

“Yeah...Who in their right mind wanted to have a kid with him…?” added the second one.

“Just look at this poor girl. She looks like a clown just like him…,” commented the other one.

They cut off their conversation when Hisoka was close enough to hear them.

“Go and have some fun little princess,” he encouraged his daughter to play with the others, giving her a plastic bucket with toys. Instantly, she ran to the sand box. Meanwhile, Hisoka approached the mothers sitting at the benches.

“Hello ladies~!” he greeted them kindly. They greeted him back, but just to be polite.

“Actually, I have to go home now,” one mother excused herself and called her for her child.

“But Mom, I don’t want to go home yet!” the little boy opposed.

“I decide when we return and I decided that we are doing it now!” she stated firmly and dragged the child behind her. “Goodbye!”

“I recently made a delicious strawberry cake. Do you want to know the recipe?” Hisoka tried to carry on the conversation.

“Speaking of cooking, I have to depart as well to make dinner!” announced another mother and quickly disappeared with her child.

“People these days are so busy, aren’t they?” Hisoka wondered. The mothers nodded at him shyly. A moment of silence fell. None of the women could find a subject to chat with the strange father. The silence was broken by one of the boys who dashed to his mother, crying.

“What happened, my dear?” his mother asked him.

“Illuka broke my toy!” he accused the girl, showing his toy which was a plastic car before. Now it was a plastic skull. All of the mothers gasped, and the mother of the boy with a broken toy hissed. Hisoka was shocked as well like all of them. He called Illuka over.

“Illuka, how did you do that?” he inquired seriously.

“I don’t know, I just thought it would look better as a skull, so I touched it and it changed!”

That explanation was enough for him. _Nen_. Illuka had used her power for the first time. Such a shame that it happened under such conditions.

“Witchcraft!” one of the mothers squealed.

“It’s not witchcraft, it’s just…” Hisoka wanted to explain, but he wasn’t sure if they would understand. “Illuka, you made this boy very sad, he’s crying because of you, can’t you see? Apologize to him quickly!” It broke his heart to yell at her and to see her downhearted face, but he had to be firm in a situation like this.

“I’m sorry,” Illuka said, looking down.

“I’m deeply sorry for that,” Hisoka apologized as well. He took out a few dollars, handing them to the mother. “Here, you can buy him another one…”

“I don’t want your money!” the woman refused. “And, you can keep it as well!” She shoved the plastic skull to him. “I don’t want to have anything to do with you!” She grabbed her son by the wrist and walked away. The rest of the mothers started to part as well. Illuka burst into tears.

“Shh.” Hisoka hugged her. “Sit down, little princess.” He placed her on a nearby bench and sat down next to her. “You see, you have special powers. Everybody has them, but not everybody knows how to use them. The ones who don’t know about it, think it’s scary. So, that’s why those Mommies were so mad at you. But, I’m proud of you. This skull looks great!” He kissed Illuka’s forehead.

“Really?”

“Really, really!” Hisoka assured her. “When Illumi comes back, we’ll teach you how to use this power. But, please don’t use it in public, ever again, okay?” Hisoka smiled with his eyes and lips. “Promise?” he pulled his pinky finger towards her.

“Promise!” Illuka nodded, hooking her little finger with his.

* * *

 

Illumi came back home the following day. The first person who greeted him was, of course, Illuka. He barely entered the apartment and the girl had already ran towards him and glued herself to his leg.

“Papa Lumi!”

“Yea, that’s me.” He ruffled her hair and took her into his arms. She hugged him tightly, burying her face in his shoulder.

“What happened?” Illumi could sense that the atmosphere at home was different. He had never seen Hisoka act so worried. He approached him and gave him a brief kiss on his cheek.

“What was that for?” Hisoka inquired.

“For not burning down the house. And, not letting Illuka die.”

Hisoka smirked, but it was a forced smile. “Yeah, speaking of her… There was an incident yesterday…”

Hearing that, the girl sank her little fingers into Illumi’s back more .

“You’d better sit down,” Hisoka proposed, and they both sat down on the couch. Hisoka told him about the  situation that happened on the playground the day before. Illumi listened to him with a poker face, then he asked his daughter, “Sweetie, did this happen before?”

Illuka, without a word, got up from Illumi’s lap and went to the bin. She dug in it for a while until she pulled out something from it and came back to her parents.

“I made this,” she showed them a toy in a shape of a big beetle with red, crossed eyes and sharp, long teeth, “From Daddy’s shoe.”

“Our child likes creepy toys very much…,” Illumi noticed.

“Oh, I noticed that one of my shoes was missing recently. But, of course nothing happened!” he reassured his daughter with a warm smile.

“We’ll have to make a test,” Illumi announced. “Then, we’ll know the type of your power and we can teach you how to control it. I’ll be back in a while.”

Later on, he brought a glass of water with a leaf atop of it. He placed it on the coffee table, and they all sat around it. He demanded Illuka place her hands around the glass and do what she had done while changing things into her dream toys. She tried so hard, and finally, a faint white mist appeared around her hands. Illumi and Hisoka stared at the glass in anticipation, curious what their daughter would make with it. Finally, the leaf moved in the glass.

“She’s a manipulator…,” Illumi announced.

“Just like you…”

“Yes. But, I wanted to ask you if you could be the one to teach her how to use nen. I’ll train her to become an assassin when she’s a little bit older, let’s say in 2 or 3 years…”

“What? Does such a young child really need to do something like that?” Hisoka opposed.

“Illuka, please go to your room to play. Your fathers have to talk,” Illumi ordered her.

She looked between Illumi and Hisoka a few times.

“Everything’s fine, please go, little princess,” Hisoka reassured her with a smile.

When their daughter was gone, Illumi answered Hisoka’s question: “Illuka is the daughter of a pair of killers. How many people do you think  would like to kidnap her as revenge? We need to protect her. She has to know how to fight.”

“I can see that, but I always thought that we’d do it when she was older…”

“An assassin’s training yields the best results when it is conducted at an early age. Everyone in the Zoldyck family went through that.”

“Okay…I just wonder if she could reconcile it with going to school. I really want her to have a normal childhood besides that and for her to have some friends…”

“Friends? Assassins don’t need any friends,” Illumi repeated what his parents had burned into him.

“Oh really?” Hisoka mocked him. “Somehow you have me and Killua has Gon…”

Mentioning his younger brother and his friend really triggered Illumi.

“Stop it!” Illumi slammed his fists on the coffee table.

A pregnant pause filled the room. Finally, Illumi decided, “Fine, we will send her to preschool, but first you have to teach her how to control nen. And, I’ll start the assassin training when she’s seven. That’s my final word.” Illumi stood up and went to Illuka’s room to check on her. Hisoka smiled delicately, happy about reaching his goal.

* * *

 

“Daddy, am I doing it right?” Illuka asked as she opened her aura nodes.

Hisoka happily nodded his head. Teaching a four-year old to control the flow of her aura was a hard and tedious process, but Hioska was a patient teacher. Above all, Illuka was a very talented student. She loved their mutual lessons. They were basically comprised of meditation sessions and learning the Four Major Principles. Hisoka couldn’t wait to teach Illuka more advanced techniques, but he would do so when she was older. He also wanted Illuka to master basic techniques first.

“Now stop it!” Hisoka ordered her to use Zetsu. Closing her aura nodes was more difficult for Illuka. It took her more time to stop the flow of aura from her body.

“You should do it faster,” Hisoka criticized. Illuka grimaced.

“Of course, you’ll learn it and you’ll be better in the future,” he reassured his daughter, and her face beamed instantly. “Now, do you feel it?” He activated his Nen.

“Yes, I can feel your presence, Daddy,” she said with a wide smile, showing a row of white teeth.

“Good. Well, this state allows you to become more sensitive to others’ aura. It’s useful when it comes to tracking other people and hiding your own presence from other Nen users. Do you understand it so far?” Hisoka made sure Illuka was following him. She nodded.

“However,” Hisoka continued his lecture, “you’re completely defenseless while using it, so be careful. Any aura attack at you can cause massive damage. Let’s train Ren now. Try to produce more aura and keep it on the body,” Hisoka explained to her and demonstrated it.

Illuka tried to do it: She expanded white mist around her, but it instantly lowered. She tried a few times, breathing heavily.

“Daddy, I can’t do it,” she refused with tears in her eyes.

“Calm down, you can do it,” he cheered her on. “Please try one last time.”

Illuka closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She clenched her little fists. Being extremely focused, she finally outputted a huge amount of aura that stayed close to her body for a few minutes. Hisoka clapped his hands. “See, you can keep it up much longer every time,” he praised her. “Now, the last thing, practicing Hatsu.”

Illuka calmed down her aura.

“Take this.” Hisoka handed her a paper box. “And, transform it into a notebook.”

Illuka put her hand on the box and started manipulating the object. She was a little bit tired of the training, so it wasn’t an easy task for her. Pearls of sweat appeared on her forehead, and she stuck her tongue out. Finally, she did it.

“Yay, I’m so proud of you!” Hisoka patted her on her head. “You must be exhausted.”

Illuka nodded.

“Let’s eat something delicious then,” he said as they left the room.

* * *

 

**7 years old**

“Hey, wake up!” Illuka jumped onto Hisoka’s and Illumi’s bed and began to bounce on it. The sleepy fathers just murmured incomprehensibly.

“It’s my birthday today, did you forget?” She kept bouncing.

“What time is it?” Illumi asked, rubbing his eyes. Of course they didn’t forget about her birthday, it was just not time to wake up yet.

Illumi realized that Illuka couldn’t tell time and Hisoka was still only muttering through his sleep, so he reached over to the phone on the nightstand and checked the hour. _7 am_. Too early to wake up.

“C’mon, Papa!” Illuka collapsed onto his stomach. Illumi grunted under his daughter’s weight.

“Just a minute, okay?”

“There’s no time! I want to have the longest birthday ever!” Illuka said feverishly . “And, I’m finally at the age when you’ll start to train me, right Papa?” she made sure.

Illumi confirmed.

“I’m so excited! Daddy wake up!” She started tugging at him. Hisoka finally started waking up.

“Yes, little princess?” he asked in a still sleepy voice. “Get up, you have to dress me!”

“Mhm…” Hisoka murmured into his pillow, while Illumi was slowly getting up and putting his robe on.

“C’mon, let’s make some breakfast.” He took Illuka to the kitchen and let Hisoka lie a little bit longer in bed. He had a tough fight yesterday.

Illumi wasn’t a master chef, but he could cook some basic foods like scrambled eggs with toast. After the meal, Illumi went out to buy presents while Hisoka started preparing a birthday cake for Illuka. The birthday girl willingly helped him with baking.

Unfortunately, he noticed that they had ran out of flour.

“I’ll text Illumi to buy it,” Hisoka decided.

“No, you don’t have to! Do we have any food similar in texture?” Illuka asked.

“There’s plenty of rice, I guess…,” Hisoka wondered. “Illuka, you don’t want to…”

But, she wasn’t listening  to him anymore as she grabbed a package of rice from the shelf and put her hands on it. Slowly, she activated her aura. The milky mist appeared around her hands and the package. She closed her eyes and focused on her power. Hisoka looked at it, his eyes widening.

“Done!” Illuka stated finally, opening her eyes. The white aura disappeared.

Hisoka looked into the package. Instead of rice, there was a white powder now. He scooped a little bit of it onto his fingertip and tasted it.

“It tastes like flour indeed.”

Illuka grinned. Hisoka wondered how lucky they were that her power was only limited to manipulation over inanimate objects. What if she could manipulate people's bodies? She could turn him into a frog or something! Hisoka shrugged and turned his head.

“What happened, Daddy?”

“Nothing, I just thought about something unpleasant. Let’s go back to baking, shall we?” He smiled.

* * *

 

When everything was prepared, it was finally time to dress up. The one who helped Illuka to suit up was Hisoka.

She chose to wear a purple dress with a massive amount of tucks, furbelows, lace, and bows. She wore sparkling, silver tights and purple flats.

“How do you want your hair, little princess?” Hisoka asked, brushing her long, wavy hair.

“Pigtails!” she demanded.

“Okay.” Hisoka combed her hair into two pigtails, tied them with some hair bands, and decorated it with white bows.

“Don’t forget about the make-up!” she reminded him.

“Of course.” Hisoka painted a star and a tear on her cheeks. Then, he passed her a small mirror so she could see herself.

“Do you like it?” he asked.

“Yes, I’m so pretty! Thank you, Daddy!” She kissed him on the cheek.

* * *

 

The birthday party was planned in a park. Hisoka and Illumi packed all the necessary food and accessories into a big wicker basket and a blanket and some toys into a bag.

Arriving to the park, they took a spot in the middle of a spacious lawn. Illuka helped him to spread the blanket onto the ground and set up paper cups and plates. They waited for the guests. Illuka invited a few of her friends from school. But, twenty minutes had passed since the appointed hour of the start of the party and nobody had come. Illuka looked as if she was about to cry.

“Why hasn’t anybody showed up yet?” she asked her fathers.

“Wait a little bit more, I’m sure your friends will come soon,” Illumi replied with a fake smile on his face. “I told you it was a bad idea…,” he whispered to Hisoka on the side.

“But, she wanted a birthday party so much...Illuka, come, let’s play tag.”

“I don’t want to…”

That moment, a woman and a little boy approached their picnic.

“Pax!” Illuka immediately shouted as she saw the boy and ran towards him. The boy was very thin. He had black, messy hair and big green eyes. He was dressed in modest, but tidy clothes as was his mother.

“We apologize for being late!” the woman excused them.

“No problem! You’re the first as you can see!” Hisoka reassured her with a wide smile.

“Oh! I’m sorry! Pax talks about Illuka all the time. He couldn’t miss her birthday party. You see, he’s a pretty shy boy, and she is his only friend at school.”

“We see…Well, we’re glad to meet Illuka’s friend! I’m Hisoka and this is my partner, Illumi,” he introduced them.

“Nice to meet you, I’m Dana. Oh, I almost forgot!” Pax’s mother took out a small package from her purse and called her son. “Give this to Illuka!” The boy nodded and ran to give the present to his friend.

“When I should pick up Pax?” the woman wanted to know.

“Well, I think we’ll play here for at least for two hours, so there’s no rush.”

“Okay, have a good time. Pax, be polite!” she warned her son and walked away.

Hisoka and Illumi could finally take out the cake from the basket and light  the candles. They sang “Happy Birthday” to Illuka, and she blew out the candles. Then, Hisoka cut the cake and everyone got a piece. While eating it, Illuka said to Pax, “See, today we have a lot of food, so I don’t have to make you some!”

Pax stiffened. The fathers looked at the children, confused.

“What do you mean, Illuka?” Illumi questioned.

“Pax’s family doesn’t have a lot of money, so I change some stuff into food so he can have something to eat at home,” Illuka explained.

Pax looked at her offendedly; he clearly didn’t want her to reveal their secret.

“Illuka, how many times have we told you that you cannot use your powers in public?” Illumi reprimanded her.

“There, there…,” Hisoka cut in. “We came to have fun, didn’t we? Eat as much as you want, Pax.” He grinned.

Pax smiled back and went back to eating cake. They didn’t mention the subject anymore.

When they were done eating, Illuka opened her birthday present from Pax. She ripped the paper from the box and opened it hurriedly. Inside, she found only a bar of chocolate and small teddy bear.

“It’s so cool!” she exclaimed while she pulled out the grey plushie. It was dressed in a checkered shirt and hat. At home she had many more toys like this, bigger and prettier, but this one was special; it was the first teddy bear she got from a friend, not from her parents.

“I’ll call him after you, Pax the Second!” she decided, and after that she hugged her new toy and Pax. Then, she divided the chocolate into four more or less equal pieces and shared them with Pax and her fathers.

While they ate the chocolate, Hisoka entertained the kids with his magic tricks. He blew balloons and made different things from them from animals to flowers. Both of the kids had a great amount of fun.

Pax’s mother was greatly surprised when she came to pick him up; she had never seen her son so happy before.

“Look Mom, what I’ve got!” Pax showed his mother the balloon dog that Hisoka made for him.

“Oh, it wasn’t necessary…,” Pax’s mother started talking, but Hisoka cut in.

“It was my pleasure! Thank you for coming to our party!”

“Thank you for such a wonderful party! I’ve never seen Pax have so much fun! Anyway, we have to go now, say goodbye Pax.”

“But, can’t we play a little bit longer, Mum?” he asked with an imploring voice.

“You can play another time. Dad will be mad if we come back late,” she tried to explain to him. Pax suddenly got sadder.

“Okay, goodbye then,” he said quietly.

“Bye Pax!” Illuka waved goodbye vigorously.

“Hmm, strange family. I don’t know who’s more strange: us or them…,” Hisoka wondered loudly, staring at the disappearing silhouettes of the mother and her child.

“As long it doesn’t negatively influence our daughter, I don’t care,” said Illumi with a cold voice. “Let’s clean up and go back home, shall we?”

* * *

 

**12 years old**

The sound of the intercom sounded in Hisoka’s and Illumi’s apartment.

“That’s Pax!” Illuka squealed with excitement. 

Hisoka sighed deeply. “I guess it’s the end of learning card tricks then.” He lazily got up to answer the intercom. Years have passed, but Illuka and Pax remained best friends. Hisoka observed, becoming more and more jealous, as the two kids spent more and more time together.

_One day Illuka will grow up and wander off with that boy…_

Hisoka shook his head to get rid of those sad thoughts and pressed the button: “Yes?”

On the small screen, he indeed saw his daughter’s best friend.

“Hello sir, is Illuka home?”

“Sure, come in.” Hisoka pressed another button to let the boy in.

“I’m sorry I’m late,” Pax explained himself when he entered Illuka’s room.

“No problem, Daddy taught me new tricks. Do you want to see?” Illuka pulled out a deck of cards.

Pax nodded.

“Okay, play nice kids, I’ll make you something to eat~.” Hisoka left the room and wandered off to the kitchen.

The moment Hisoka left, the smile fell off Illuka’s face. She tossed the cards to the floor and jumped to Pax.

“You’re late because of your Dad, aren’t you?”

Pax didn’t answer. She grabbed the hem of his T-shirt and moved it up. Her eyes widened when she saw bruises on his chest. She was both angry and disgusted.

“Did your Dad do this to you again?” Illuka carefully examined Pax’s torso.

“Y-Yes,” he finally admitted.

“That’s it! Is he at home now?”

“Yes…”

“What about your mom?”

“She’s at work now. Why are you asking all these questions, Illuka?”

“Perfect! Let’s go to your place. Honestly, I want to teach your father a lesson,” Illuka announced with an evil smile. Pax had to admit it that this was the first time he felt intimidated by Illuka.

“But how?”

“You know, I have these powers…”

“I don’t think it’s a good idea.” Pax was still hesitant. But it was too late, Illuka had already rushed out of the room, screaming in a sweet voice, “Daaaddy?”

“Yes, my dear?” Hisoka answered with a wide smile.

“What are you cooking ♥ ?”

“Blueberry cupcakes.”

“Can we go to Pax’s house for a while? He was supposed to bring over a game, but he forgot it. We’ll be back for cupcakes,” Illuka asked nicely, hugging her father around his arm.

“Of course my dear, be safe ♥ !”

Illuka didn’t wait, but rushed out of the apartment, holding hands with Pax.

* * *

 

“Okay, but what do you plan to do exactly?” Pax was equally thrilled and pleased that Illuka decided to do something in the case of his father.

His dad treated him and his mother like shit: he yelled at them and even beat them when they did something wrong. Pax hated it and knew that it wasn’t supposed to be like this. He observed Illuka’s family closely; she had not one, but _two_ loving fathers, who took great care of her. Most people often said that Illuka’s family wasn’t normal. Firstly, because she didn’t have a mom but two fathers. Secondly, her fathers were strange and bizarre: one of them was an ex Heaven’s Arena fighter and the other one had a mysterious profession. There were even rumors that he was an assassin! That’s why Illuka didn’t have any friends besides him; most people just avoided them and preferred not to have any connection with them. Just Pax’s mother didn’t care at all; she saw how much Illuka’s fathers loved her and didn’t seem to care how they made their living. Pax didn’t have any friends as well because most parents forbade their children to play with him because he was from a poor  family. It was like he and Illuka were destined to be friends.

Pax knew his father was an evil man, but still he was his father. And, what if he got more evil after that and hurt him and Illuka?

“Calm down, I won’t hurt him, I just want to scare him.” After Illuka’s explanation, Pax didn’t question her anymore.

When they entered Pax’s house, his father was asleep in an armchair, drunk.

“Okay, let’s hide over there.” Illuka pointed at the sofa.

“I’m still not convinced of this idea…”

“Shh, do you want him to continue beating you and your mom?”

Pax opposed by shaking his head.

“Stay quiet then,” Illuka ordered him and picked up a newspaper, which was lying nearby on the floor. With her Nen ability, she transformed it into a plastic ball. She threw it in Pax’s father’s direction. The ball smacked him on the forehead.

The man grunted through his sleep and lazily opened his eyes.

“Who’s there?!” he exclaimed in anger, rubbing his achy forehead.

Illuka stood up, chuckling. She still stood behind the sofa though.

“Who the hell are you?”

“I’m Pax’s friend,” Illuka introduced herself.

“That little bastard! I’ll teach him a lesson about bringing around such delinquent  kids like you! I’ll teach you a lesson too!” Pax’s father was about to stand up from the armchair, but something held him down. Then, he realized there were ropes magically growing from the armchair. The ropes tied around  his wrists, ankles, and stomach, binding him to the armchair. With her years of training, Illuka learnt how to control the texture of objects without touching them.

“What the hell is this? You stupid shit, you’ll pay for this!” He started to thrash against the ropes.

“I don’t think so.” Illuka chuckled again. Then, she transformed one of the cushions lying on the sofa into a boxing glove.

“I’m Pax’s friend, which means I know about every bruise you gave him…” The boxing glove mysteriously flew in the man’s direction. “I know that you beat him so that nobody could see it. So don’t worry, I’ll do the same, you won’t have any visible bruises.”

The boxing glove started to punch the man’s chest. It attacked him from numerous directions. Pax’s father screamed in anguish.

“Who… the… hell… are you…” he gasped amid the punches.

Illuka just smiled evilly while controlling the glove. It surely brought her pleasure.

“Do you see how painful it is? I’m here to make sure you won’t beat Pax or his mother ever again. Or, I’ll come back and do something worse to you…”

“This… is… nuts…”

“I didn’t hear your agreement, maybe you need a bigger threat. Hmm, what can I do?” Illuka looked around and grabbed a pen which lied on a nearby coffee table. She transformed it into a knife and flung it into Pax’s father’s direction. The knife stopped just in front of his face. The man pissed his pants from the scare.

“Illuka, stop!” Pax finally jumped out from behind the sofa. He looked at his friend. He had never seen like this: her eyes looked crazy, she smirked evilly, and licked her lips. It was the first time he was afraid of her.

“I agree! I agree! I won’t beat them ever again, just leave me alone!” the man cried. The knife dropped onto the floor with a clatter.

“Good. You know better than to mess with me. And if you try to hurt Pax, his mother or me ever again, my fathers will take care of you. And they are much more powerful than me, one of them is an assassin.”

“I swear!”

The knife floated once again in the air, cutting the ropes. Then, it flew to Illuka who changed it back into a pen.

“I’m glad that you learnt your lesson. Now Pax, let’s go!”

* * *

 

“You were scary, Illuka!” Pax admitted to her when they were back in her room. She  just giggled in response.

“Now at least I’m sure he’ll never touch you again! And if he does, I’ll send my fathers after him, I’m not even joking!”

“I pity him a little bit though…” Pax sighed.

“Don’t be! He doesn’t deserve it!” Illuka said feverishly.

“You know, I’m often jealous of your fathers…You have two awesome dads, while my only one is a shitty one…”

“Aw, maybe they’re not your real fathers, but they can be some kind of foster fathers to you. They really like you, I can tell!”

At that moment, Hisoka came into the room with a plate of homemade cupcakes.

“Who wants some cupcakes?” he asked with a wide smile.

“See?” Illuka uttered, and both of the children burst into laughter.

* * *

 

In the end, Pax’s father left the family. The boy and his mother lived much more peacefully now. Illuka and Pax remained friends, and a few years later they went off on their first holiday trip together. Meanwhile, Illuka’s parents spent summer near the sea.

“I’m still worried about Illuka…,” Illumi expressed his worries to Hisoka while staring at the sunset hiding in the sea. They spent the evening on a terrace of a house they were renting. 

“Don’t worry about her. She’s almost an adult, and we taught her how to fight. She’ll surely make it on her own.”

“You mean they, she’s not alone but with that _boy_ ,” saying that, Illumi wrinkled his nose.

“Then, it’s even better. He’ll help her. My oh my, is my dear Illumi worried about our little girl?”

Illumi just squinted his eyes.

“You know, we won’t be there for her forever. It’s good that she has someone she can rely on. Someone with whom she can start a family with someday. You’re a family guy, aren’t ya?” Hisoka teased his lover.

“Don’t even say that, I don’t want to picture them like that! She’s too young!” Illumi covered his ears and shook his head.

“But, you know she’s getting older? Whether we want it or not.” Hisoka suddenly turned more serious.

“I wish she would be our small and sweet girl forever and ever…”

“Yeah, such a shame it’s impossible…” Hisoka sighed, and a pregnant pause filled the room. “Anyway, speaking of family, I’d like to ask you something.”

“Huh?” Illumi turned to his lover.

“I know it’s been so long since we’ve been together, and I’m sorry I didn’t ask you earlier.” He started to root in his pants pocket. “I guess I wasn’t ready earlier… Anyway…” Hisoka took out a small box and kneeled on one knee. “Will you marry me?” he popped the question, opening the box and showing the golden ring with an onyx gem.

It took Illumi’s breath away. He didn’t know what to say. It was the first time he had tears in his eyes (besides the moment when Illuka was born). Finally, he managed to say through his clogged throat, “Y-Yes!”

Hisoka’s smile became even wider as he took the ring out from the box and placed it on Illumi’s finger. Then, they embraced tightly.

“Actually, it was you who proposed first…,” said Hisoka.

“How’s that? I don’t recall it.”

“It was when you were under anesthesia  after giving birth to Illuka. And, you promised me a big wedding! Your mother was so triggered by that back then!”

“Oh well…I guess I’ll make my promise then!” Illumi smiled slightly and sealed his lips with Hisoka’s.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Three people who I'd like to thank are:  
> @sexyclowndaddy from tumblr whose art inspired me for writing this fic  
> @SuperSaiyanHollow (@yaoiobsessedwrites on tumblr) who beated this whole work, without her it wouldn't be so good as it is   
> @Madlymiho for being an awesome friend and cheering me up
> 
> Also big thanks for all my readers, kudos and comments are welcomed! ^^
> 
> Don't forget to say hi on tumblr ---> @hisoka-is-my-daddy

**Author's Note:**

> An idea of Hisoka and Illumi having a baby was inspired by the drawings of Tumblr user - @sexyclowndaddy :)
> 
> As always big thanks to @SuperSaiyanHollow for betaing it, and to anyone who read this story! I hope you enjoyed it!
> 
> Come say hi on tumblr @sugoi-pocky


End file.
